Good morning everyone,Looking for some advice ... was out checking the hives on Thursday this week, I have two hives that I may need to add another super to. I did some rearranging of less worked frames ... moving them towards the center, but think I should likely be adding another super. These are 2nd year hives that are doing well. I do not run with queen excluders, given all the comments in favour of that and I did reverse my deeps this spring. So the question is, does one just simply add another super (these are all just foundation, no drawn comb). By doing so, I've read where the queen will not cross honey to lay ... the last thing I want to happen in the honey supers. I've also read that bees will not cross an excluder if only foundation is present. Do the majority of honey frames have to be capped before adding a honey super? I've also read about reverse supering ... where the new/empty super is placed next to the deeps with the full honey super above. Can someone explain why someone would do this. It seems like alot of work to move full honey supers everytime you add a new one ... must be benefits.

Good morning everyone,Looking for some advice ... was out checking the hives on Thursday this week, I have two hives that I may need to add another super to. I did some rearranging of less worked frames ... moving them towards the center, but think I should likely be adding another super.

I've also read that bees will not cross an excluder if only foundation is present. Do the majority of honey frames have to be capped before adding a honey super? I've also read about reverse supering ... where the new/empty super is placed next to the deeps with the full honey super above. Can someone explain why someone would do this. It seems like alot of work to move full honey supers everytime you add a new one ... must be benefits.

Supers must added simply because the colony grows. It needs more room. If yopu do not give in time, it swarms.

Second thing is that if queen has not enough space, the colony swarms.

Mostly colony must grow enough that its brood rearing and foraging is in balance and it starts to store honey.

Colony growt from one box hive to productive 4 box hive takes about 6 weeks. Smaller colonies take more time.

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I've read where the queen will not cross honey to lay ... the last thing I want to happen in the honey supers.

I have no excluder and queens may lay where ever they want. But basicly bees keep the brood area compact.That is why I use 3 brood boxes. I do not mind, are they super or what.The more brood, the more foragers, - some day...

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Do the majority of honey frames have to be capped before adding a honey super?

it is controversy.Like I wrote, supoers are ned for bees, not for honey. You may have 4-5 boxers bees but honey at all.

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When you want one capped super, you need in hive 2 more supers where bees dry up the nectar.Put allways the new box between honey andf brood. Rippen brood up, and nectar in the middle. Brood down.

It seems that you need a good beekeeping book. If you read these forum stories, 90% is carbage.

No you don't let all the cells be capped before adding super. When 7 or more frames are mostly full, add. If you have a good flow and not going to get back to it with-in 5 to 7 days, if medium supers, add 2. If I have a super half and the flow is tapering off, I don't add. As for as excluders I find if I have an upper entrance I don't have a problem with the excluder excluding honey. As for brood in the honey super, that is the reason for using all same size boxes. There is always a chance if you find brood in a honey super there will be a frame of honey in the brood area. Just switch the frames, Even if it has some pollen in it it will strain out and the brood will end up where it belongs. :) d2

If this box that is almost full and not for winter food for the colony, you could take several fully capped frames, harvest, and replace with drawn comb frames, foundation frames or starter strip frames. Which ever system you are using. I would think all bee keepers with just a few colonies has the capabilities of doing just a few frames. this again is probably 90% wrong, according to some. ;) :) d2

I broke mine up, pulling frames of honey from the full box and putting them into the empty box with empty frames between the full frames. I left the fullest frames in the box that went right on top of the brood box. I went with foundationless frames. I'm guessing that as the bees build, they fill with honey and the queen isn't going to climb up that empty space to lay eggs. If you're using foundation, maybe she will decide to climb up and lay. Not really a big deal. As Finski says, more bees means more foragers. More foragers means more honey.

I would think all bee keepers with just a few colonies has the capabilities of doing just a few frames. this again is probably 90% wrong, according to some. ;) :) d2

Read better beekeeping books and you will be right some day.

But join the weak hives that they get capacity.

I have every year small hives, like this year half ow my hives were not able to harvest yield. But during this week I join weak hives to 5-6 box towers when I carry them to rape field. That hive is able to draw 3 boxes foundations in two weeks. So I have new combs for next season.

A joined hive brings 60-100 kg honey in July. It depends then on weathers. In bad luck. like last. year canola gove northing because of 3 weeks rains.